Twenty-nine

Fright Zone

Eastern Border

Planet Etheria

6 September 2017

"What are they doing?" Shadow Weaver wondered.

She and Hordak watched as the tiny vehicle with incredible firepower that had managed to disable the mighty command tank wheeled about and came to a halt a quarter mile from the wounded behemoth. The driver and gunner clambered out, closed the hatches and sent it off on remote control. The six-pointed stars on their chest plates marked them as Guardians. The Horde leaders watched the wonderous transformation from combat power armor to fifteen-foot battle mode. Then the Guardians stood, waiting for the Horde to make the next move.

"Disembark the troops," Hordak commanded.

Hatches fore and aft dropped and columns of robot troopers, battle drones, and Monstroids marched out into the smoky afternoon air. The machines formed up by type, waiting for the order to attack. The Monstroids remained at the back of the tank.

Adrian had hoped the Horde would wait until the other four Guardians joined them, but that had been just wishful thinking. When the formations were set, the order was given, and the ranks of war machine charged the two Guardians.

The fighting was fierce. Jake and Adrian fought hand-to-hand, stomping, punching and tearing the smaller attackers apart in an effort to conserve power. Even though the sky was cloudy from the smoke that continued to belch from underground fires where the planetary cannon once stood, plus that rising from the recently destroyed Horde machines, the suits were still capable of drawing in plenty of energy from the sun and shunting it into the capacitors. The process was slow, but it could make a difference.

Adrian spied H/K drones rumbling up to unleash their fire upon the Guardians. While their Etherium alloy skin was impervious to anything the current array of forces opposing them could dish out, the delicate electronics and flesh and blood operators within were still vulnerable to the vibrations and shocks imparted from impacting explosives. He aimed the plasma rifle clutched in War Wing's left hand and coolly blew away three of the H/Ks with three brief blasts.

Gatling Arm's trademark gun pods snapped around from the storage mounts on the back and into position, to be grasped by armored hands. Jake paused in his running battle, sweeping the weapons left and right. Grinning dragon-mouth tanks mounting a twin-barreled cannon assembly were pounded by storms of plasma bolts. Foot soldiers were blasted apart. Mark IV troopers weathered the storm, although some took damage when their shield systems were overloaded by the sheer volume of firepower directed against them.

The small stuff swept aside, Jake stowed the Gatling gun pods, activated the extendable blade system and launched himself at the larger oncoming tanks and troop carriers, slicing, stabbing and dicing the enemy to bits.

The pair were eventually driven back to their starting point as more heavy weapons pressed the attack. A lull settled over the field as the Horde forces gathered themselves for another assault. Adrian was beginning to think about a Plan C. The current mass of firepower could not be allowed to travel further.

A small panel on the left side of the cockpit suddenly lit up; it was the return signal Adrian had been waiting for. Things are starting to look up, he thought. The speakers crackled to life over a specific open channel that linked all six battlesuits. It was a moment before he recognized the barely audible voice.

"On your right," the Sorceress advised.

Adrian looked to the right but saw nothing. Then a portal began to take shape, the characteristic oval shot through with sparkling shafts of orange light radiating out from a black center. This one was sized to allow the passage of something big. The missing four Guardians – Claw, Hawk, Blitzkrieg and Falcon – stepped through one by one and fanned out to form up the skirmish line.

With a grin, Adrian thought, If this doesn't bring Hordak and his witch out to play, nothing will.

It did. Instead of exiting from the forward loading ramp, Hordak and Shadow Weaver appeared on top of the stricken behemoth. The pair stood at the edge of the command deck module and surveyed his army.

Jake slammed a vicious backhand into the assault drone that had been annoying him with blasts from the weapons pods mounted to the elbow of each arm. The blow pulverized the torso and caused the machine to literally explode. Taking his station in line next to War Wing, Jake looked up at Hordak.

"Is that all you've got?" Jake demanded over the external speakers.

In response, Hordak raised his right arm. Horde forces regrouped to face the enemy battlesuits. The Monstroids that had been standing at the back of the command tank finally stepped forward. Although the battlefield was littered with a lot of debris from the fighting, Hordak still had an effective battle force. It just might still be more than a match for the six upgraded Guardians.

"Bozehe moy – my God-" Sonya groused.

"You just had to ask," Jeromy growled.

Adrian said evenly, "Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"You do that again; I'll shoot you myself."

Even though a quarter mile separated them, Hordak used his inherent magic to project his voice without the need to shout; that would have been undignified. "This is all that I have. This is exactly what I wanted. All of you against all of this. How can you possibly hope to survive it?"

"Well," Adrian started, glanced at Falcon standing to his right, before returning his attention to the primary target, "like the Old Lady said, 'together.'"

War Wing's left arm snapped up and locked onto target with the precision possible only with an AI assist.

Natural inclination by the enemy was to assume the deadly, devastating plasma blaster clutched in the left hand would belch forth an annihilating beam of energy. Instead, the panels in the angular nose of the neutronium-sheathed shield snapped back. Three miniature missiles roared out of the launcher in a 1-2-3 firing sequence. All three were configured with penetrator nosecones, capable of punching through armor plate. Three targeted Monstroids staggered slightly from the impacts. They tottered and toppled backward when the powerful explosive charges detonated, destroying critical balance gyros, electronics and structural supports. The machines clashed to the ground, chests crumpling inward, inky black smoke billowing into the air to add to the thick clouds above.

All six Guardians moved as one, engaging the stunned Horde forces in a devastating wave of destruction.

A small comm window popped open on the left side of Adrian's heads-up display. "Old Lady?" Sorceress said. Her voice had a more whimsical tone than anger or irritation.

"I'm going to pay for that in so many ways," Adrian declared.

"I stopped counting at five hundred."

"That's it?" War Wing said, shocked. "I figured more than that."

Falcon chimed in. "Indeed. I counted more than a thousand."

"Shut up! The both of you," Adrian growled.

"What he said," Sorceress added.

Gatling Arm turned his attention to the troops immediately in from of the disabled tank. Many of the robots were drones, armed with the deadly weapons pods containing a railgun, grenade launcher and powerful laser gun. AI and operator cleared out the heavier units that could possibly shoot down a flying object.

War Wing followed up by launching high into the sky, angling straight at Hordak. Shadow Weaver reacted instantly, levitating away to her left. She disappeared over the side of the tank -where Falcon could track her movements and engage her at the Sorceress' leisure. At the apex of the leap, War Wing transformed to combat mode. Wings spread wide, hovering on thrust from the wings and boot thrusters, Adrian took aim with the blaster cannon mounted on the right arm and fired a bolt at the leader of the Horde on Etheria.

To his credit, Hordak acted solely on instinct, diving away to his right. He rolled over the edge, accessed the magical powers still available to his hybrid body, and slowed to a gentle landing. At a mental command, his right forearm reshaped itself into a power blaster cannon. Hordak snapped his arm up and fired on his attacker.

War Wing dodged, fired, dodged again. Both combatants easily avoided the other's fire. Horde troops scrambled out of the way as the pair continued to dive, roll and spring this way and that, trying to tag each other with a blast from their weapons. One thing Horde troops learned early on was that when their leader was engaged in a fight, no one was to interfere on pain of death.

Hordak and War Wing paused, mere moments after battle was joined. They crouched facing one another across a twenty-meter no-man's land. Wisps of smoke lazily drifted skyward from the heated barrels of their weapons.

"Neither of us is going to die in a battle this low tech," Adrian commented to his foe.

After a moment, Hordak said, "Agreed."

Both warriors stood and deactivated their weapons. Hordak's hand returned to normal while Adrian's flight pack and cannon disappeared. Popping his faceplate, Adrian regarded Hordak with open curiosity.

"I thought you would be older," Hordak said, absently.

"I thought you'd be taller," Adrian returned.

Actually, Hordak topped General Rongar, who stood six foot, three inches, by several inches. But prior to his attack on Horde Prime, Hordak would have been irritated by such a comment.

Cylinders popped out of storage slots on War Wing's legs into Adrian's waiting hands. He slapped the butt of the cylinders together, gave them a quarter twist to lock them in place and activated the sabers. Hordak removed a nano-tech rod from along his spine. He held it up as the shaft lengthened and thickened into a staff four feet long. Twelve-inch spans at each end enlarged to a diameter of two inches. Purple-tinted tendrils of energy crackled and licked about the metal.

An electro-staff.

Adrian recognized it immediately. The Val-kyrie possessed such staffs, normally used only in training. Some warriors favored full-powered versions in combat over thermo-energy sabers. He had taken many hits from such training staffs. The electric jolt wasn't deadly, but it hurt like hell.

His staff is fully powered, War Wing whispered in his operator's mind. I can insulate you from strikes from that weapon, but only for so long. It would be best to avoid getting hit.

Thanks, Captain Obvious, Adrian thought back. Aloud, he invited, "C'mon, Hordak. Let's dance!"

Colonel Markson watched as the Guardians engaged the Horde. He was waiting for the moment when his three platoons, plus Major Oran's people, were to start their front in the battle. Bladewings intercepted Bat meks trying to line up for strafing runs on the waiting formations. The Eternia launched missiles at any fighters making a direct approach to the mountain pass. Captain Majourny assured him over the secure comm channel to his command APC that the enemy fighters would not bother him.

"Are you seeing this?" a sergeant over in Beta platoon said over the tac net. "He's really going head-to-head with that monster!"

There was more chatter about the Guardians in general thrashing the Horde forces with everything they had. Colonel Markson's command were witnessing a ferocity from them that had not previously been seen. The colonel knew what Adrian was capable of, which terrified him. Now, they were witnesses to what all of them could do. The power in those six battlesuits terrified all of them. Oh, the Sorceress would never admit to it, but she was uniquely equipped to understand the dangers of wielding such power.

A mixed bag of Horde troops broke through on the left side of the Guardian formation and made a bee line straight for the parked APCs, bringing the colonel back to the present. Snipers opened fire immediately as the leading elements drew within range. The twin Gatling gun mounts on the top aft section of the three remaining APCs swiveled to the right, locking targets on to the heavy units and opening up.

Buzzsaw roars from three turrets split the air. Explosive rounds blew apart the advancing foot soldiers. Follow-up volleys tore into the front armor of tanks, assault carriers and the H/K units. Despite the losses, the robots continued advancing into the firestorm.

More weapons opened fire on the robot troops. Explosive rounds, rocket-propelled grenades, 40mm grenade launchers and explosive-tipped arrows rained down on the approaching wave of machines. More robots died in fiery explosions. Still, they came on.

That was the method of the Horde that worked so well. Throw overwhelming numbers at the enemy until they were rolled over in endless waves of machines. It had worked for a hundred centuries, so why change tactics?

Claw saw the dilemma the same moment Jake pointed it out to Brad. Claw executed three power leaps to get close enough to the Horde troops to give them something else to think about, Brad ripping into the robots with the claw assembly on the left arm while swinging a vibro-scimitar with the other hand.

The battle ended a few minutes later. The breakthrough had fallen short of the established defense line by half a mile. The Val-kyrie withdrew to the defense line while the Earth defenders reloaded and prepared for the next wave that was being readied for a thrust through the gap the Horde had opened up by drawing the Guardians out of position.

Colonel Markson wasn't worried. He had held the four dropships in reserve for just such an occasion. The plan was to keep the Horde occupied while the strike team penetrated Hordak's main complex to retrieve the power swords. It looked like it was time to call them up.

Hawk and Falcon broke away from the battle. Hawk headed straight for the rendezvous point with Major Oran and her strike team. Falcon headed south toward the knot of defenders at the north end of the pass.

Gunny Apone was trying to rally the troops and reform the line after the troops had gotten spread out. Some had fallen back as the Horde came on. When facing down tanks lumbering toward you, if you do not have the firepower to stop them, the next best thing is to withdraw. With the onslaught blunted, heavier firepower was brought up to reinforce the position.

Apone was alone along the northern flank. He had judged the danger to be minimal while the Horde was occupied with the Guardians once more. He was using a pair of electro-binoculars to focus in on the heated fight between Adrian and Hordak when fire erupted all through his body. Muscles locked up so tight he thought they would tear his body apart. Blue/white tendrils of electricity cascaded all over his body for several agonizing seconds. When the effect finally faded, Apone collapsed to the ground in a quivering heap. He was propped up by an outcropping of rock, so he saw the shapely figure dressed in form-fitting dark red robes enter his field of vision. With his entire body temporarily paralyzed, there was nothing he could do.

"Well," Apone croaked, recognizing who it was approaching him, "if it isn't Hordak's hairless harpy." At least his voice still worked.

Shadow Weaver was not impressed. Her right hand rose, a globe of magical power taking shape. "And now you fall, as all enemies of the Horde must," Weaver hissed. Her voice had that same grating screech as fingernails on a blackboard.

Apone braced himself to discover what lay beyond this life. "You might want to reconsider before something bad happens," he advised; one last show of bravery, he thought.

The energy globe flared and exploded. Shadow Weaver spun away, clutching her wounded right hand, hissing venomously. In the periphery of her vision something settled to the ground a short distance away.

"Too late," Apone sighed.

Shadow Weaver looked up into the icy blue eyes of the Sorceress. The battlesuit had reformed from battle to combat modes. The Sorceress settled to the ground, armor changing to the silver six-pointed medallion on a heavy chain before it vanished. Red-robed witch faced the Guardian of Castle Grayskull, now dressed in the costume of her station.

"Step away from him, you bitch!" the Sorceress snarled.

"Ssssorceressssss," Shadow hissed. "Shame on you. Such language. I have been looking forward to pitting my magic against yours."

"Be careful what you wish for, Light Spinner. I'll make you regret it."

"You have something I want."

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what Shadow Weaver was referring to. "You have no idea what you're dealing with. The Guardians belong to themselves. Your lust for power disqualifies you."

"We…shall…see," Shadow said slowly. She had by careful degrees been building up energy to launch an attack at the Sorceress. Now her right arm snapped up, finger pointed at the Sorceress, and a focused beam of magical energy fired at her target.

The Sorceress had been expecting the attack. She quickly raised her left arm, semi-transparent shield snapping into place, blocking the yellow beam. Instead of just stopping Shadow Weaver's attack, Sorceress energized the shield, siphoning off more of the witch's power. Shadow felt the power draw, recognized it and spent several frantic moments trying to cut off the energy flow.

"Not bad," Sorceress complimented. A wave of shimmering white energy travelled up Falcon's left arm, across the shoulders and down the right arm. "Try this." With a speed born of long hours of practice enhancing her reflexes, the Sorceress flung the globe of magical power back at her opponent.

The swift counterattack was so unexpected, Shadow Weaver never had a chance to dodge it. The globe struck her in the belly and spread instantly all over her body. Fiery needles stabbed every centimeter of flesh. Shaking off the effect, Shadow levitated and soared off to her right, hands raised and crackling with yellow tendrils of electricity.

Sorceress turned to face her, left arm raised, white tendrils of power snapping around her hand. The shield switched from left the arm to the right for defense. Both traded blows without connecting; Shadow Weaver had developed her own defense shield. The Sorceress fell back on a tactic Captain Takamora taught her early on when the platoons had been training to work as a unit.

Hohiro had determined, with confirmation from the Sorceress, that magic-users relied on their power for both offense and defense. While the Sorceress could use magic in such ways, that usage always exacts a price. A person's physical strength was depleted in proportion to the amount of magic used: Enough magic could be used to drop "life energy" to a lethal level. Such instances were rare, but they had happened. If it's happened, it's not a theory, but a painful fact.

The captain suggested learning the art of self-defense without using magic; he hadn't had a hard time selling the idea. It had turned out to be an especially good move when she could use those skills when traveling incognito. Or playing the part of a bounty hunter. A shift to physical combat would not be too hard, and it would come as a total surprise that just might give her the edge. Oh, she could use magic amplified by Falcon to simply level an opponent. And the price would be her lying in a comatose-like sleep for days or weeks afterward.

Shadow Weaver settled to the ground and readied a magic missile. She never got the chance to launch it. Sorceress closed in, slammed the edge of the shield into Shadow's gut. The blow doubled her up, more in surprise than pain; a quick spell changing cotton clothing to leather blunted some of the impact. The Sorceress was trying to disable rather than kill. Shadow Weaver, as it would turn out, was attempting to do the same.

Sorceress rapidly followed up her initial attack with a left jab that staggered Weaver back. The shield disappeared and the Sorceress stepped forward, twisting and slamming her right elbow into already bruised abdominal muscles. Her right fist snapped up into Shadow's face. Out of reflex, Shadow released an unfocused blast from her right hand. The burst caught the Sorceress in the face, but only a glancing blow.

Whirling away, Sorceress blinked rapidly to clear her vision. She looked up in time to catch Shadow Weaver charging at her, hands raised and charged with crackling streamers of yellow energy. Sorceress leapt to her feet, hands equally charged, and clamped her hands with Weaver's Fingers interlocked, power surging, the combatants engaged in a force of wills. Sorceress knew she could flatten Shadow Weaver with ease at any moment. Falcon was itching to do so.

"I want that armor," Shadow snarled. A trail of blood trickled from the left corner of her mouth.

"You are not worthy of what she has to offer," Sorceress said, straining against the witch's will. "You can't handle it. Your ambition would destroy you."

"But you can? I suppose for you it's easy. If you can do it…"

Sorceress shoved back with both will and magical power. "It is not easy. It's a work in progress that I am better equipped to handle than you."

The stalemate suddenly broke, the pair separating and gathering themselves to renew the battle. Sorceress deflected a magic missile harmlessly away. She closed in to grapple with the witch, but Shadow was expecting it this time. Being a quick study, the witch countered the attack, twisted and flung the Sorceress to the ground. Falcon screamed in the Sorceress' mind to get up, but it was too late. She looked over her right shoulder, felt an intense, blinding pain in her right temple and her world went black.

Shadow Weaver casually tossed the rock aside with distaste. It had served its purpose. She knelt next to the woman and rolled her over unto her back. A few moments passed, then the medallion shimmered into existence, nestled between the Sorceress' breasts.

Weaver smiled a cruel, self-satisfied smile. "And now for my reward."

She reached out for the six-pointed star with the pulsing blue jewel set in its center. Talon-like fingers the color of gray ash hesitated. The Sorceress' declaration that she was not worthy of what the battlesuit had to offer stuck in Shadow's mind. She savagely thrust the thought aside. She was worthy. It was her destiny. Steeling her resolve, Shadow Weaver snapped up the star. The instant she had the medallion firmly in her grasp, Shadow Weaver stiffened, threw her head back, and opened her mouth to issue a scream that would not come.

So, you think you are worthy of me? It is we who choose our operators, not the other way around, you misguided, narrow-mined little fool. You cannot comprehend the power I can access. A power no mortal can contain or control. Horde Prime. King Hiss. Even your revered Hordak could not survive even a brief exposure to what I can access, Falcon spoke in Shadow Weaver's mind.

You have lusted after the ultimate power ever since you first learned the so-called art of magic. You are small, Shadow Weaver. The Sorceress of Grayskull has always known what the dangers of lusting absolute power leads to. But the rewards can be wonderous. Would like to see what it is you yearn for? Would you? Here, let me show you.

Before Shadow Weaver could formulate a response, her world shifted and expanded to an incredible degree. In moments she knew everything. Was a part of everything. Shadow Weaver felt the very fabric of the universe. Other realms. Other dimensions. Sensed higher plains of existence only a sufficiently evolved being could see and know. She investigated galaxies so far away that even the portals inside Castle Grayskull might not reach. Lifeforms stranger than anything fictional writers could possibly conceive of passed through her vision. Weaver could smell colors. Sense things no current mortal could comprehend. It was wonderous beyond anything she could have ever envisioned when she made the deal to be imbued with dark magic. What she saw now went way beyond anything dark magic could have provided.

The moment seemed to last for ages, but, lasted only moments in the real world. Falcon heartlessly snatched it all away in an instant.

Wisps of smoke drifted up from between Shadow Weaver's fingers curled around the medallion. She gradually became aware of an intense burning sensation in the palm of her hand. It was as if the leather glove had been burned away and something was burning its way into the flesh of her hand.

Now spend the rest of your days in unevolved agony knowing that you have briefly touched the face of ultimate power and can never remotely feel its caress again. EVER!

A rush of magical energies welled up from within Falcon. A blinding burst of light, a deafening boom of thunder- and Shadow Weaver was blasted away from the Sorceress. She tumbled across the ground and came to rest laying facedown in the dirt forty feet away.

Apone shook off his stunned amazement from what he had just witnessed and struggled to his feet. A group of soldiers that had been keeping out of the way of the battle rushed over to him. Two trained their weapons on the unmoving form of Shadow Weaver. A burly corporal built like a defensive lineman heaved Apone to his feet. Together, they approached the Sorceress. The Gunny Sergeant dropped beside the unconscious woman and examined the head wound even as he felt for a pulse in her right wrist. He was no doctor, but the headwound didn't look too bad. The greater danger would be a concussion. The corporal pulled out a compress from a first aid pack and pressed it to the oozing wound.

A few months ago, Apone would have felt foolish, but after what they had seen and experienced, it wasn't so funny to talk to what outwardly appeared to be an inanimate object. "Falcon, you might want to spread the word to your companions to hurry up and finish this fight."

Falcon heard him and immediately passed the word to the others.

Adrian and Hordak paused in their intense battle. Neither had made any progress. Each had gotten a few hits on the other, but none were disabling. Adrian was sweating profusely inside the armor despite the cool air blowing inside the helmet. He realized that in order to meet this creature on equal terms, Adrian would have to reveal the carefully kept and cultivated secret about the creatures they had with them.

"Receiving the feedback signal from the targets. They are approaching from the south west," Wing reported. "Shall I inform the good colonel while you teach this creature a lesson about being the most dangerous creature in the universe?"

"Yes. And you don't have to butter me up."

"I'm not buttering you up. I just want to help you knock Hordak down a peg or three," Wing responded. "Hold on." War Wing's pause last almost a full minute as Adrian and Hordak reengaged.

"Okay. He's passing the word that any Monstroid with blue eyes are on our side. All others are enemies," the AI reported. "Let's show this creature what a real monster is."

Adrian disengaged the sabers as Hordak swept the electro-staff in a downward arc aimed at his head. He jumped back and locked the energy blades down over the staff as it passed through where he had been standing just a moment ago. He held the cross-down position, raising his right foot and hitting Hordak with a powerful blast from the foot thrusters. Hordak reeled back from the strike. As he straightened up, Adrian fired off a blast from capacitor at the heart of the six-pointed star on War Wing's chest.

Hordak was actually a bit winded from the prolonged fighting; Adrian took a bit of satisfaction in that. "I have fought King Grayskull. I have even engaged that whelp of successor calling himself 'He-man.' You are neither."

Deactivating the sabers and snapping the hilts back into the slots in each thigh, Adrian said, "No. I'm a Guardian."

"I heard about their exploits after their fall. They couldn't make the grade. Can you?" Hordak taunted.

His answer came in the form of a spindly-limbed creature unlike anything Hordak had ever seen. An impossibly long and curved head smashed into his chest, staggering him. A long, segmented tail whipped about, taking out troopers who had foolishly gotten too close in case they could help their leader. Hordak grabbed the thick neck as long fingers curled about his shoulders. Translucent lips pealed back from silver razor teeth, dripping clear slime. That mouth opened, revealing a second inner mouth. It suddenly launched forward, straight at Hordak's face.

Hordak recoiled, just barely snapping his head back far enough to avoid being punctured. With an inhuman heave, Hordak flung the creature away from him. It struck the ground, tucked and rolled. When it stood up and faced Hordak, it was a completely different creature. One Hordak recognized. Suddenly, he understood what had happened. These outlanders had carefully crafted a tale of having several different creatures working with them, as told by survivors who had been allowed to return and spread it. The reality was that they had a changeling in their midst.

"Impressive," Hordak said to himself. It wasn't easy to elicit any type of emotional response from Hordak since his reconstruction. That Guardian Adrian Cobretti had been able to impress him was a feat.

Adrian was about to do it again.

The Syngenor snapped his arms down, clenching muscles in a specific sequence to snap out twin bone claws from under the carapace plates protecting the forearms. The combatants charged at one another to renew battle. In spite of what he'd deduced, Hordak made the mistake of thinking the bone claws were just what they appeared to be: He was wrong. Lightning flashed when electro-staff and claws clanged together. Hordak snapped the ends at the creature in a one-two sweep, trying to connect. Syngenor parried each blow with ease.

Hordak now understood why the experiment of AI and operator had failed a thousand years ago. The AIs had not been sufficiently evolved enough to allow for such symbiotic actions. The AI was somehow using the properties of the battlesuit to reinforce whatever form the changeling took. An impressive display of skill and control. This human wasn't allowing the AI to do all the work.

Hordak abandoned the staff and used all the brute force at his disposal in his nanotech body. Syngenor saw the punch coming, twisting just enough to avoid the metal-shod fist. Hordak flinched from searing pain in his left side. He had just been cut! The creature had actually managed to cut open the nanotech sheath covering his body!

Hordak clamped his left arm down to trap the claw arm that had sliced him. The other clamped around the creature's neck. He did not have a realistic chance of being able to strangle the changeling, but it was worth a shot. The struggle caused him to twist and bend. Actions that further tore are the cuts in his side, which did not appear to be healing like they should have.

At that point Horde leader suffered a further complication. His eyes closed briefly while wincing in pain from the cut metal edges in his side grinding together. His right hand mysteriously began to spread as if some invisible force was peeling the fingers off his foe's throat. Hordak opened his eyes and found himself looking not into the silver eyes of the the Syngenor, but the neon-orange eyes of the the CHUD. The features were reminiscent of Hordak's own, right down to the pointy ears.

The new creature took advantage of Hordak loosening his grip in shock and snapped his right arm away from Hordak's side, breaking the hold. Hordak flinched when that same fist slammed like a piledriver into his wounded side. Once. Twice. Three times.

The first punch cracked more metal bands. The second snapped several of them. The third punch rammed several shards deep into Hordak's flesh. A pain he had not felt since Modulok had first administer the nanomachines to heal him lanced through him as if lava had been poured into the open wound.

Hordak broke away from his tormentor, whirling about and prepared to deal a deathblow to this abomination. Channeling all the rage and power in his semi-organic body, Hordak roared and lashed out with a focused right hook to the monster's jaw. His lips curled up in cruel satisfaction as the creature's head snapped around. Had the changeling been in human form, the blow would have instantly ripped his head from his shoulders. As such, the CHUD's head merely snapped around without doing much damage.

It slowly brought its head back around and regarded the Horde leader with what could have been construed as respect for a well-placed punch. Adrian raised massive arms rippling with cords of muscles under the skin. He waved Hordak forward.

The CHUD met Hordak head-on. Each threw powerful punches at the other. Their fists slammed together; two irresistible forces meeting equally immovable objects. Hordak and the CHUD lurched backward, scowling and shaking the pain out of bruised knuckles. Hordak impulsively lunged at his foe. Hands clasped together, the creature twisted and slammed the combined fist into Hordak's midriff, doubling him over. Hordak did not get even a split-second to recover; a powerful uppercut drove into his jaw, launching him from his feet. Hordak came crashing to the ground in a dazed heap. Mark III troopers and drones, who had been spectators until now, had had enough. They could not continue to watch their leader getting pummeled in such an obscene manner.

War Wing activated the personal shield to protect his operator from the storm of laser fire. A pair of scout drones stomped in, hooked their hands under Hordak's arms, easily lifted their burden and began dragging him away.

Explosive rounds arrowed in from the CHUD's left. Troopers and drones shielding the withdraw were ripped apart. The cavalry had arrived in the form of Captain Takamora's Charlie Platoon. The APC had skidded to a halt thirty yards away, around the corner of the disabled tank where the enemy wouldn't notice it. The captain deployed his forces and moved in from the Guardian's left flank where there would be no doubt about the sudden offensive fire coming from his side.

Strangely, the battle on their front dissipated as the fighting shifted. Adrian's promised reinforcements had finally arrived, a formidable array of Monstroids of various sizes, opening a new front in the battle to the southwest of the Horde army. No one knew, until that moment, that the master computer fabricated them in anything other than the three-story machine She-ra had first encountered years ago.

Captain Takamora stood down his people and kept a careful watch on Adrian in the event he decided that the fight between him and Hordak was not over. He was not disappointed.

"Enough!" Hohiro barked at the green-skinned creature when he took a definitive step to follow Hordak. "Fight's over. He's had enough. You won."

The creature's hands curled into fists so tight that the knuckles crackled like popcorn. Everyone around him promptly took one step away.

Just in case.

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